Mystery police donation made by 11-year-old Wisconsin boy

A $10 mystery in Greenfield has been solved, and the story has a very happy ending.

Greenfield police said a boy walked into the police department Friday and gave the clerk a bag of coins worth about $10.

Police were pleased but puzzled by the anonymous donation, so they spent the weekend looking at surveillance video from the lobby hoping to identify and thank their donor.

On Monday, Assistant Police Chief Paul Schlecht got his man.

WISN 12 News' news partners at Greenfield Patch report that Maxx Siepert's grandfather was a Milwaukee police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1974.

Siepert said he had just studied the September 11 attacks in school. He said he learned of the great things police and firefighters did and he wanted to give back.

"Happy I did what I did because, one day, that's going to make a difference," he said.

Schlecht said the donation has lifted the spirits of the entire department.

"Officers are dealing with bad situations or difficult situations," he said. "To have someone come in with that act of kindness, it lifts morale."

Siepert said he hopes his donation will encourage others to do the same.

"If every person would do that, we'd have such a great world," he said. "It would be awesome."

Schlecht said the money will be given to the Greenfield Police Foundation, a nonprofit organization associated with the police department that helps funds the department's K-9 unit, hunter safety courses and Citizen's Police Academy.

Copyright 2013 byWISN.comAll rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.